


Found Family

by kinghairington



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 17:29:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13392741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinghairington/pseuds/kinghairington
Summary: Steve starts hosting a movie night at his house for the kids because he likes making sure they’re all somewhere safe (especially Max even though she assures him that Billy has been leaving her alone) and he also likes hanging out with them.In which Steve discovers the meaning of found family.





	Found Family

Steve starts hosting a movie night at his house for the kids because he likes making sure they’re all somewhere safe (especially Max even though she assures him that Billy has been leaving her alone) and he also likes hanging out with them.

He has a huge set-up with a big screen tv and surround sound speakers, because of course he does. The kids are _hooked_.

These movie nights become a weekly thing during the school year and every other night when it’s winter or summer break. (It’s either that or _Dungeons and Dragons_ campaigns for the Party, which they start having at Steve’s a lot too since they’re trying to get him into it.)

At some point, he gives Dustin a key to the house so they always have somewhere to go even if he’s not there. But they have strict instructions of what they can and can’t do when he’s not there (he’s working at the police department now so he thinks they’re going to listen) and they’re also supposed to clean up after themselves. They don’t obey most of the time, especially Dustin and Mike.

He even starts stocking the kitchen with some of their favorite foods. It’s kind of his way of showing them he cares and that his home can be like a second home for all of them. The first time El finds the boxes of Eggo’s in the freezer, she stuffs them in her jacket and tries to leave with them before Lucas explains to her that Steve bought them for her to eat at his house. She doesn’t need to take them home with her. (Dustin still takes some of the chocolate pudding home with him.)

And, maybe he’s yearning for a family, but he really likes having them around. The house is too quiet when they’re not there.

Nancy and Jonathan start coming with Will and at first, that’s weird for everyone, especially the three older teens, but seeing their relationship in front of his eyes helps Steve move on. It’s obvious they’re a good fit. Eventually, that becomes a normal thing, Nancy and Jonathan joining in, and soon enough even Joyce and Hopper are stopping by from time to time when they’re not on one of their secret dates. (Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan know enough about complicated relationships now to notice what’s going on with the adults.)

His parents don’t understand it at all when they’re home, so the movie nights end for a while. He’s able to have everyone over when his parents go out of town, but it’s not the same. Loneliness seeps back in quickly.

On his 19th birthday, Steve moves out of his parents’ house. It wasn’t like he felt at home after they refused to let the Party hang out. Plus, his dad hates that Steve’s not working for him, so it’s time for him to get away from them. He can’t afford much. It’s big enough for him and he gives Dustin (and Hopper) a key with the same rules from his parents’ house.

The tv in his new place is small and he doesn’t have any kind of speaker system, but he has a living room with a couch that seats 4 people. He’s worried no one will want to do movie nights again, but when he gets home from work one night, the Party is already inside watching movies and waiting for him to join them.


End file.
